One of the reasons the pro hockey leagues let their players compete in the Olympics is simple marketing. When the teams in your market come back with a pair of gold medals, the effects are tangible.
Because a lot of people watch the Olympics.
According to NBC Universal’s ratings of the Feb. 19 gold medal game between the United States and Canada — home to all eight of the Professional Women’s Hockey League teams — the game averaged 5.3 million viewers throughout. By the time Megan Keller won it with an overtime goal, that had peaked to 7.7 million.
Once the Games officially wrapped on Feb. 22, the PWHL started to see its highest ticket sales of the season.
“The Olympics have drawn significant interest to the PWHL’s restart,” the league said in a statement, “with February 24 and 25 seeing the two biggest home venue ticket sales days” since the season began on Nov. 22.
The players are feeling it, as well.
“There were a few people that said, ‘I’m looking for a new market to support, give me your best thoughts,’ ” said Taylor Heise, one of six Minnesota Frost players to compete for Team USA. “I sent my love to a few people, for sure. But any fan of the PWHL is a fan of us, and we’ll take that … and just get excited for new fans in our base.”
Heise, Britta Curl-Salemme, Kelly Pannek, Kelly Coyne Schofield, Lee Stecklein and Grace Zumwinkle were all part of the U.S. team that sliced the gauntlet of the world’s best players, outsourcing opponents by a combined score of 37-2.
The championship game was a nail-biter. With the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Hilary Knight tied it with a goal at 17:56 of the third period. Keller then won it in the 3-on-3 overtime.
“I think we’re only going to be seeing a big spike in people watching games,” Curl-Salemme said. “You get connected personally to players during the Olympics, and teams, just because of how cool it is, and then they get to find them in the PW and find different rivalries and different teams.”
The PWHL, which expanded into Seattle and Vancouver this season, sent 61 players to the Olympics. The league has also made it easy to access their games online, often livestreaming them on their YouTube channel for free.
The Frost, the two-time PWHL champions, return to league play on Sunday against the Victoire in Montreal. Puck drop is set for noon.
The league’s first game of the re-start, between Montreal and the New York Sirens, had only 3,488 fans in attendance and 569 views on YouTube on Thursday. But ticket sales have shown that should be an outlier in what’s to come for the rest of the regular season.
“I think that was a great display of women’s hockey, and it’s great there were 61 players in Italy that are coming back to play in the PWHL,” Pannek said. “And for the fans that were tuning in, they know where they can watch their favorite player and continue to grow the game. And that’s something we’re all really excited about.”
Heise is hoping the gold medal win could help expand hockey in her hometown of Lake City, Minn. She said Wednesday the town is looking to make upgrades to its ice rink, and a Lake City official confirmed the town is applying for funding through a Minnesota DNR grant.
If they can secure the grant, it will open a door for more youth hockey opportunities for Lake City children looking to follow Heise’s Olympic dreams.
“We still don’t have a hockey program down there,” said Heise, who played high school hockey for Red Wing. “But I do think our rink is getting a little renovation, so that is something I am hopeful for.”
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